Secret Santa for Abi

[Dr. Sean Neville]

How Can You Live in the North East?*
(For Abi)

Josh had gone to visit his parents for the day and he had taken Bailey with him, which had left Sean to his own devices.

“His own devices” typically involved errands, simply because that was the type of person that the telepath was. Sean was responsible, and he liked to make sure that the household was fully-stocked and in working order. If he had additional time after finishing his errands and being called upon to pick Josh and Bailey up from Burlington, then he had a project to work on at home.

Post Office.
Pharmacy.
Liquor Store.
Dry Cleaning.
Grocery Store.
Gas Station.

He lived such an interesting life. Truly, Sean wished that any member of PUSE and any anti-meta politician could see the grave threat he posed to his fellow countrymen with his newly pressed jackets and his carton of grapefruit juice.

The post office had an exceedingly long line, as it always did in the time before and after the holidays. Sean held the care package in his hands, with the envelope he had to send Express Mail carefully perched atop it.

“Sean!”

The telepath turned to see Josef there with Harmony in tow. The girl wore her typically cheerful** expression. Glaring at him, she asked, “If you’re so smart, why don’t you make everyone let you cut to the front of the line?”

“Harmony!” Josef chastised her, although it was apparent that it never worked, and that the younger man had long stopped having any expectation that this time would be different. “You know better. We exercise self-control.”

She rolled her eyes. From her tone, it was apparent that she didn’t care about what her uncle had to say. “Why are you lecturing me? He’s the one who can’t figure out how to use his powers.”

A few of the people in line turned to look at them. Sean paid those people no attention. Instead, he asked his friend, “Do you have a lot of errands to run?”

“Too many.” The number amplified ten-fold by his niece’s presence.

Sean sympathized. “Why don’t you go ahead of me?”

Josef appeared surprised. “Are you sure?”

Harmony began to loudly and impatiently tap her foot.

“I’m sure,” the telepath replied.

The additional wait only lasted a few minutes, which were instantly made worthwhile by Harmony’s departure from the post office.

After he mailed his parcels, the telepath walked down the street to the local pharmacy. He’d received a notice that Josh’s blood pressure medication had been filled, and he wanted to drop off his script for his sleeping pills.

“Hello, Doctor Neville!” The pharmacy technician greeted him with a bright smile. “What can I do for you today?”

“I’m here to do pick up Josh’s Avalide.” He then slid forward the prescription, clearly written on his general practitioner’s RX pad. “And I need this one filled.”

The technician took the script and read it quickly. “This shouldn’t take too long if you want to wait for it.” The pharmacy was relatively empty.

Sean weighed the pros and cons. Deciding that he’d rather have it on hand should the snow trap them inside later this winter, he nodded in assent. “I’ll wait.”

“I’ll call you as soon as it’s ready.”

The telepath then milled around in the aisles for a few minutes, turning his head when he heard his name called.

Zebadiah Hayes approached him from the next aisle. “Doctor Neville? Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

He offered his coworker a smile. “I don’t mind at all.”

The younger man held out two different packages of brand-name sleeping aids. “In your professional opinion, which of these is better?”

Sean quickly read the first one’s chemical name and shook his head. “That’s never been tested on psychics, so I wouldn’t touch it.” As for the other one, he read the ingredients and said, “That one probably won’t do much for you, but you won’t risk a seizure.”

Zeb looked vaguely disappointed but he nodded. “That’s something, I guess.”

“There’s a new drug in trials now. Once it’s approved, we can work something out.”

“Doctor Neville?” The pharmacy technician waved him down.

“I’ll let you go,” Zeb said. “Stay warm.

“You too.” The telepath went back to the pharmacy counter and paid for the prescriptions, before shoving them into the pockets of his coat.

The liquor store was on the way to the dry cleaner’s, and, in the interest of saving time and gasoline, the telepath made that his next stop.

Even before entering the liquor store, Sean sensed two familiar presences. He offered Stefan Spencer and Mike Batista a nod and a smile, before he made a beeline for the scotch.

“Christmas shopping?” Stefan asked hopefully.

“I already have your present.” It was not liquor; Sean didn’t want to encourage the other man. He and Josh had had words about that, before agreeing to disagree regarding their approach to Stefan’s holiday presents. “You’ll get it in due time.”

Before Stefan could protest, Mike put a hand on his arm and guided him toward the tequila section. Sean was inwardly grateful, since he wanted to make this a quick trip.

A new bottle of scotch for the holidays, followed by a bottle of red wine and two bottles of white. He paid quickly, packed them into a carrying box, and brought them out to his car, where he deposited them into the trunk.

The dry cleaners were working overtime due to the holiday rush. With so many parties, there were many outfits to be worn and cleaned. Sean only needed his and Josh’s work suits, nothing fancy. It took a couple of minutes for someone to come out of the back to greet him, but they greeted him with a smile of recognition and a promise to get his outfits.

Of course they recognized him; he’d frequented this establishment for so many years. He’d brought them business, and now he paid for twice as much clothing, since he picked up Josh’s outfits as well. He handed in his ticket and paid, they handed him the numerous hangers containing suits all inside protective plastic covers.

On his way out, he crossed paths with Nicholas Kells. The younger man gave him a look of disgust.

Sean had read the letter that man had sent to his own daughter. While he didn’t want an altercation, he also wouldn’t let it go completely. Projecting to the other man as he walked by, he told him, I know what you did.

Nicholas Kells stopped in his tracks. “Excuse me?”

Sean didn’t stop walking. I know what you did. Perhaps if you grow a conscience, you’ll find yourself haunted by it one day.

The drive to the grocery store was a relatively short one. Even with the winter weekend traffic, Sean was able to get there within ten minutes. Parking in the lot, he grabbed a shopping cart and went through the aisles, making short work of his list.

Half and Half for his coffee. Skim milk for cereal and for Bailey. Grapefruit juice for the mornings. Two dozen eggs for cooking and for Josh’s baking. Tomatoes and lettuce and peppers and broccoli...canned goods to make up for the lack of fresh produce during the winter months.

As he turned into the pasta aisle, he heard the tail-end of an argument.

“You need to make lasagna!” Two voices spoke almost in unison.

“We’re having chicken.”

“They won’t eat chicken.”

“Then they can cook their own food!”

Somehow, the psychiatrist had managed to stumble upon a Bishop Family shopping trip. He knew they had a Christmas party on the horizon, and he had to imagine that they were shopping for that. Just in case, he raised his mental shields.

“Hi, Doctor Neville!” More than one sibling greeted him. He’d been spotted.

“Hello.” He offered a smile to the crowd of siblings. Nobody had asked him his opinion, but he agreed that Jonathan and Jacob should have their dietary restrictions acknowledged during the planning phase of the meal. As he passed the twins, he offered them an expression intended to convey his support.

Perhaps someone would agree to make them some sandwiches if nobody would yield on the main course.

“Have a happy holidays,” he wished to the large sibling clan, before he pulled two boxes of pasta off the shelf and deposited them into his cart. He then turned into the next aisle, in the opposite direction of the Bishop clan.

Still, he passed the gestalt pair on his way to check out. Each boy had a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and jelly swirl in hand.

At least that was a compromise.

“Do you need help bringing these out to your car?” The cashier asked, gesturing at the shopping cart that contained reusable bags filled with groceries.

While he wouldn’t articulate the thought, Sean had to wonder just how old he looked to even qualify for that question. “No, I have it, but thank you.”

He could still push a shopping cart and lift grocery bags.

It took a bit of reorganization in the trunk to fit everything, but he managed. After returning the cart to its caddy, he ducked into the car. Only one more errand before he could return home.

The gas station had a local-equivalent of a 7-11 attached to it. When Sean pulled his car up to the pump, he spied Ricio Miller outside. When he exited the car and pulled out his credit card to swipe for gas, he offered the younger man a wave.

Ricio smiled back and came over. “How are you, Doc?”

“I’m fine.” Sean unscrewed his gas cap and lifted the pump. He took the opportunity to give the younger man a once-over before he asked, “Are you hungry?”

Ricio’s smile widened. “I could eat.”

“Let me buy you a hotdog.”

Once he’d finished pumping his gas, he ducked into the convenience store so he could have his hotdog. For good measure, Sean also bought him a coffee and a soft pretzel, although given the nature of the convenience store, “soft” was a matter of opinion. After bringing the bounty out to Ricio so that the younger man didn’t have to go indoors, they chatted for a few minutes.

Then they went their separate ways.

Sean managed to bring everything inside, although he had to do so in shifts. Immediately, he turned up the heat (fortunately, the new boiler had been installed and worked perfectly), so that he could warm his hands. He also put on a pot of coffee while he put away the groceries, put the liquor in the liquor cabinet, put his and Josh’s clothing in their respective closets, and put their medications on their respective nightstands.

Halfway through his special project, he received the call for Josh. The telepath set aside his needles, pulled on his boots and his jacket, and then went out to the garage.

En route to Burlington, he stopped off at Elaine’s flower shop. He bought two bouquets: one for Josh’s mother and one for Bailey. At Ari’s he picked up a four-pack of cupcakes.

At the traffic light, he found himself stopped at a red light beside a taxi cab. Sean turned to look out the window and met eyes with the driver. The bearded and mustachioed man smiled at him; the telepath smiled back.

When the light turned green, Sean continued on his way to pick up his family.






*This is non-canon but close to canon.
**For the purposes of this sentence, words have their opposite meaning.